Poudre de Riz

by Huitieme Art Parfums

-month of the gourmand-

The air in the closed room was heavy with a mixture of odours: soap, face powder, the pungent scent of cologne

There is nothing more beautiful than bare skin, no? Quite. Forget tattoos, forget piercings, and just leave it natural.

And there we have Poudre de Riz, an olfactive soliloquy to the intimacy of skin. Launched in 2012 and inspired by the line from Henri Barbusse’s 1908 novel, L’Enfer (see above quote), the scent captures the smell of the morning after, the famed Poudre de Riz de Java- a cosmetic cult classic from 1879. It so happens to also be a wonderful coconut fragrance thanks to the monoi oil infused vanilla. What is monoi? Monoi oil is obtained by enfleurage from tiaré flowers, also known as Tahitian Gardenias, soaked in coconut oil for a minimum of fifteen days. Tiaré flowers are, as we know, beautifully sensual white flowers sometimes with yellow hearts. The national flowers of Tahiti, they are home to Polynesian Islands and from the Rubiaceae family. In order to process them for monoi oil, they are picked when they’re still buds, with a minimum of fifteen buds used per litre of coconut oil. Together with the vanilla pods, rice, maple sap, sandalwood, iris, tonka bean, benzoin, and damask roses… well, we’ve got something truly edible.

But that doesn’t do it enough justice to the perfumes narrative. Brought to us by the Pierre Guillaume’s line Huitième Art Collection (2010) from his perfume house Parfumerie Generale(2002); Huitième Art Collection fragrances were based on new ingredients from bio-technology, and attributed to Octavian Coifan (perfume critic , historian, and founder of 1000fragrances). Guillaume’s style of perfumery is intimate. Described as leaving ‘discreet trails’, Poudre de Riz is invisible to the person sitting next to you-much like a women’s face powder ought to be. Only to those whispering into your ears, nose to skin, will the perfume reveal itself. Furthermore, its not a shy flower, once you do smell it, its present, alive and seductive. You will get lost in its gentle coconut caress, and later, the whisper of rose and musk. It is the secret intimacy with skin that Poudre de Riz highlights.

Using Guillaume’s own words… “Perfume to wear for One’s Self, an egocentric and moving experience, but also for the Other, the special One, never the Others. My perfumes rely on contact with the skin to fully express themselves, without it they are nothing” (www.parfumerie-generale.com).

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Disclaimer:

Unless stated otherwise, all of the artwork on the website has been created by Huda Jaber. If you are interested in collaborating, or would like to use one of the images, please write to the email provided above.